Digitalisation process for courier services to be implemented by end of first quarter of 2022
December 06, 2021
The implementation process to fully digitalise the courier service is expected to be by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
The new process, will be threefold:
- Digitalise the process as currently it is done manually
- Ensure that courier agents deliver door-to-door and
- Make space available for the service
Taking into account the public frustration in regards to the service, a committee was set up by the Minister for Finance, Economic Planning and Trade, Naadir Hassan, to find solutions to these bottlenecks.
Once the committee had presented its recommendations to the Minister, the Trade Department, was tasked with working on a policy paper which was presented and approved by the Cabinet on 24th November.
Courier agents have been consulted on the new way forward, and their feedback has been positive, thus far.
With the new system, courier agents will act on behalf of their clients, whereby they will be engaged in the whole process, from when a courier is either held back by customs for verification or it is above the nontaxable personal allowance of R3000, but not exceeding R5000, when a Bill of Entry is required.
They will also provide door-to-door service.
The Customs Division has welcomed the move to digitalise the process, and to facilitate the service, its airport section will eventually dedicate a specific unit to handle courier services.
In 2019, a total of 93,571 small packets, which does not include those coming in through the Postal Service, was recorded.
Presently, there are four courier services operating in the country, DHL, UPS, ARAMEX and FEDEX.
The Principal Secretary for Trade, Ms. Cillia Mangroo and Ms. Sandy Julienne, Manager for Air Cargo and the Examination Unit at SRC, met with the media last week, to give further details of the process.